Read more
Nineteenth and twentieth-century West African writer-intellectuals harnessed their Atlantic networks to explore ideas of race, regeneration, and nation-building. Yet, the ultimately cosmopolitan nature of these political and intellectual pursuits has been overlooked by dominant narratives of anti-colonial history. In contrast, Cosmopolitan Nationalism in Ghana uses cosmopolitanism as a primary theoretical tool, interrogating the anti-colonial writings that prop up Ghana's nationalist history under a new light. Mary A. Seiwaa Owusu highlights the limitations of accepted labels of nationalist scholarship and confirms that these writer-intellectuals instead engaged with ideas around the globe. This study offers a more complex account of the nation-building project, arguing for the pivotal role of other groups and factors in addition to Kwame Nkrumah's leadership. In turn, it proposes a historical account which assumes a cosmopolitan setting, highlights the centrality of debate, and opens a vista for richer understandings of Ghanaians' longstanding questions about thriving in the world.
List of contents
Introduction; 1. Ghana's grand narrative; 2. Rethinking proto nationalism Blyden and Horton (1863-1912); 3. Rethinking cultural nationalism as debates on synthesis (1887-1920); 4. Misreading conservative nationalism (1920-1945); 5. Rethinking the monopoly of radical nationalism (1946-1958); Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.
About the author
Mary A. Seiwaa Owusu teaches African history at Carleton University, with her research highlighting marginalised events and personalities. She is Cadbury Fellow (2007); Fulbright scholar-in-residence (2011); Izaak Walton Killam Predoctoral Fellow (2014); and Barbara Harlow Award recipient (2019). Previous publications include Prempeh II and the Making of Modern Asante (2009). Dr Owusu heads the UN-ITU U4SSC Ghana Country Hub.
Summary
This study examines how West African writer-intellectuals harnessed their Atlantic networks to explore ideas of race, regeneration, and nation-building. Using cosmopolitanism as a primary theoretical tool, Mary A. Seiwaa Owusu rejects dominant narratives of anti-colonialism to demonstrate a new understanding of Ghana's nationalist history.
